4 Step PPC Ad Optimization Process

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Hopefully I don’t have to convince you that you should be testing ads in your pay per click accounts. If you’re not constantly testing ads as part of your PPC program, you’re missing out. Here’s why:

In competitive niches, not testing ads could lead to the low level of performance that gets your entire PPC effort cancelled

In many niches, ad testing is required for even successful advertisers in order to stay competitive, and

For all PPC efforts, ad testing is an essential tactic to increase your ROI

I cannot cover the entirety of direct marketing, scientific marketing, and copywriting in this post. You should verse yourself in them if you want to succeed in PPC. I have a list of recommended reading for those here at AdWordsConsultant.com. All of those books can and should be read more than once.

Here’s an overview of the evolution of ads in our typical successful PPC campaign.

1. Account Set-up, First Guesses

Along with all the best practices of PPC account setup, you need granularly focused ads. That’s a natural part of the AdGroup approach.

AdGroups are the fundamental functional units of PPC. Every AdGroup targets a specific customer interest/mindset and serves it with an ad. The ad must be relevant to that mindset, attention grabbing, stimulating enough to get a click, warm the prospect up for the landing page, and yet not overpromise or overstimulate.

When you first set up AdGroups, write two ads for each.

You may have ad ideas already, or may be assigned or suggested ideas by someone else. Understanding from the client or your organization about this being an ad testing laboratory is critical. Communicate the fact that you’ll be testing these ads, and the best ones will be kept. In other words, get buy-in ahead of time that you might be deleting someone’s ad suggestion later- get them to understand that you’ll be looking for the best possible ROI, and lower performing ads won’t be kept.

If you’re not sure what to write for your initial set of ads, start the following process:

2. Finding the Right Message

Usually, ads focus on product/service features, benefits, or offers.

Your first goal is to figure out which message gets the best results for both that customer mindset and the landing page the ad leads to.

If you have five current promos, test what you guess are the two strongest ones. Don’t worry too much about the language yet. Just make sure the offer is clearly communicated. See which wins. Keep doing this until you’ve tested all your relevant offers for that AdGroup. Keep the winner.

NOTE: Read my other posts about metrics- make sure you’re using conversion and revenue-oriented metrics to judge which ad is best.

3. Optimal Copywriting

Once you’ve found the best offer, try rewording it. Get out the thesaurus and the Words and Phrases that Sell books. Keep testing ads this way until your results level off.

4. Nitpickization: Microtesting

Now try the little things like

Should I put this period at the end here?

Should I use camel caps?

Does a dash or a comma work best?

The advantage of this approach, moving from big to small, conceptual to details, is that you avoid rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

Brian Carter is the Director of Search Engine Marketing for Fuel Interactive, an interactive marketing agency in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He is responsible for the SEO, PPC, SMM, and ORM programs at Fuel and its partner traditional agency Brandon Advertising & PR.

Brian is author of The Like Economy: How Businesses Make Money With Facebook and Facebook Marketing: Leveraging Facebook's Features For Your Marketing Campaigns, How to Get More Fans on Facebook, and LinkedIn For Business: How Advertisers, Marketers and Salespeople get Leads, Sales and Profits from LinkedInBrian has 12 years experience as a freelance consultant and digital marketing agency director. His hands-on business experience, cutting edge insights, background in improv and stand up comedy culminate in a keynote speaker, and social media trainer who leaves every audience not only entertained, but armed with powerful strategies and tactics.

The thesaurus is obvious, but any links you could provide to help point your readers in the right direction to find these ‘words and phrases that sell books’? Do you have a ‘go-to’ site that you wouldn’t mind sharing?